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SOURCE: INDIA TODAY
The January 2 Pathankot terror attack by carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed seven Indian security personnel. 5 Defence Security Corps men, an IAF Garud commando and one National Security Guard was killed in the pre-dawn strike on the air base before the 6 attackers were neutralised.
While 200 NSG commandos were expected to act swiftly and flush out the terrorists, they took over 70 hours to sanitise the airbase completely.
Was this loss inevitable? Could it not been averted if the NSG commandos had proper modern fighting devices?
The Pathankot operation not just questioned National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s decision to send the NSG into the airbase, but also pointed towards the mismanagement and vulnerabilities of India’s premier anti-terrorist force – NSG.
India Today Magazine cover story, Eyes Wide Shut, exposed the shocking vulnerabilities of India’s premier counter-terrorist force.
India Today has also accessed exclusive government documents which highlights that the NSG lacked 72 equipments, which the force was promised long back.
The investigative report which is put together by India Today’s Sandeep Unnithan says, a Rs 1,400-crore modernisation plan that would have transformed it into a modern fighting force by 2017, still remains a pipe dream. The NSG is a force hollowed out by years of neglect, lurching from one crises to another.
The force continues to be bedevilled by a shortage of cutting edge equipment and training aids. Unnithan says, “Not even 1 percent of what was promised have been allotted to the force so far.”
All that the NSG has acquired for its commandos since then are sniper rifles, submachine guns and pistols.
Lt General (Retired) General Katoch says, “During 26/11 we lost many soldiers because we never had long-range night vision devices and conditions haven’t changed yet, we’ve seen it in Pathankot.”
What the NSG lacks
Long-range night vision devices and hand-held thermal imagers which would allow them to track the terrorists at night.
They did not have the drones that could fly continuously to scan the target area for suspects.
There was no command centre from where they could monitor the progress of operations.
The January 2 Pathankot terror attack by carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed seven Indian security personnel. 5 Defence Security Corps men, an IAF Garud commando and one National Security Guard was killed in the pre-dawn strike on the air base before the 6 attackers were neutralised.
While 200 NSG commandos were expected to act swiftly and flush out the terrorists, they took over 70 hours to sanitise the airbase completely.
Was this loss inevitable? Could it not been averted if the NSG commandos had proper modern fighting devices?
The Pathankot operation not just questioned National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s decision to send the NSG into the airbase, but also pointed towards the mismanagement and vulnerabilities of India’s premier anti-terrorist force – NSG.
India Today Magazine cover story, Eyes Wide Shut, exposed the shocking vulnerabilities of India’s premier counter-terrorist force.
India Today has also accessed exclusive government documents which highlights that the NSG lacked 72 equipments, which the force was promised long back.
The investigative report which is put together by India Today’s Sandeep Unnithan says, a Rs 1,400-crore modernisation plan that would have transformed it into a modern fighting force by 2017, still remains a pipe dream. The NSG is a force hollowed out by years of neglect, lurching from one crises to another.
The force continues to be bedevilled by a shortage of cutting edge equipment and training aids. Unnithan says, “Not even 1 percent of what was promised have been allotted to the force so far.”
All that the NSG has acquired for its commandos since then are sniper rifles, submachine guns and pistols.
Lt General (Retired) General Katoch says, “During 26/11 we lost many soldiers because we never had long-range night vision devices and conditions haven’t changed yet, we’ve seen it in Pathankot.”
What the NSG lacks
Long-range night vision devices and hand-held thermal imagers which would allow them to track the terrorists at night.
They did not have the drones that could fly continuously to scan the target area for suspects.
There was no command centre from where they could monitor the progress of operations.